FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH BEEF CATTLE 



BY R. S. CURTIS. 



Beef Cattle Industry of North Carolina. 



The feeding of beef cattle in North Carolina will undoubtedly become 

 an important industry. In the western portion of the State, the moun- 

 tain pastures afford excellent grazing where already very desirable types 

 of feeding cattle are being produced. With the advent of better bred 

 sires to use on the common cattle of that region and the improvement of 

 the pasture lands by better management the industry is sure to develop 

 rapidly. Prominent cattle growers state that a large percentage of the 

 desirable grazing land is not at present utilized for pasturage purposes. 

 Not only will the area be extended into the more remote parts, but the 

 quality of the pastures will be improved by better methods of manage- 

 ment. 



The writer mentions North Carolina especially because the western 

 section of the State is typical of the Appalachian region for cattle graz- 

 ing purposes. The production of feeding cattle is not limited to this 

 State alone, as Virginia and Tennessee, especially, can produce types of 

 cattle equally as desirable, and within reach of the cattle feeders of this 

 State. Virginia is using to a large extent her own cattle for feeding 

 purposes and also the larger and better cattle of eastern Tennessee and 

 western North Carolina. This is a condition which should receive the 

 attention of the more progressive stockmen of this State. North Caro- 

 lina feeders should feed all of the cattle produced in the State and, if 

 necessary, draw on the surrounding States for surplus needs. 



It need^not be stated that cottonseed meal is the only commercial con- 

 centrate which at present can be used for feeding beef cattle. The cattle 

 feeding industry furnishes a means of obtaining both the feed and ferti- 

 lizer values from this commercial product and for this reason every effort 

 should be made to use as much cottonseed meal in our live stock and gen- 

 eral farming industries as conservative business methods will permit. It 

 has not been definitely determined just how much cottonseed meal is most 

 profitable for feeding beef cattle, but it is likely that the concentrated 

 portion of the ration will consist largely of cottonseed meal for an in- 

 definite period. Knowing the approximate quantity of cottonseed meal 

 which will form a safe and satisfactory ration, the writer has confined 

 his work of the last two years in determining the most profitable roughage 

 feeds to use with the meal. 



The chief roughages available in this State are corn stover, corn 

 silage, and cottonseed hulls. Others of local importance could be named, 

 but it is considered that these three are the most important from the 

 standpoint of economy in beef production. As beef cattle do not return 

 large profits in the South it is necessary to confine the roughage part of 

 the rations to the less valuable feeds produced on the farm. 



